"I dread to think of how bad the fire could have become:" E-bike battery explodes while charging destroying shed in Peterborough

A man has issued a warning after his garden shed was gutted by fire when a charging e-bike battery "exploded."

Matthew Berzins, 39, noticed smoke rising from the shed outside his shared house and quickly alerted his housemates.

They targeted the flames with a fire extinguisher and buckets of water before calling the fire brigade.

But as they were waiting, the battery suddenly exploded causing a shot of fire to burst up into the air and flames quickly engulfed the shed.

It spread to the nearby wooden garden fence and the contents of the shed was destroyed.

The e-bike battery - purchased from eBay - belonged to Matthew's housemate and the friends are keen to raise awareness around the safety of charging.

“If it was night time or if we were out the house and leaving things on charge it could have been much worse"

Matthew, unemployed, from Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, said: "A lot of households have kids who use e-bikes and don't realise the dangers they possess.

"It was scary - if it was night time or if we were out the house and leaving things on charge it could have been much worse.

"It's something the public needs to be aware of; these fires are happening.

"These can be dangerous and a hazard.

"Luckily, we were able to get it under control, but there are lots of scenarios where this could go wrong."

Matthew noticed the smoke around midday on Tuesday (22/04) rising from behind the wooden shed.

He said: "Minutes later, it suddenly exploded, and there was a shot of fire, and the fire really started in the shed."

"If this type of fire happens for instance, in a family home and the parents are out at work, it would be disastrous."

He says the fire brigade told him that they were being called to these types of fires more regularly.

Matthew added: "They told us these fires were happening every other day from these e-bike batteries.

"So this apparently happens quite often.

"Five tenants live here including myself and three of us were in the house at the time of the fire.

"If this wasn't the case, I dread to think of how bad the fire could have become.

"If this type of fire happens for instance, in a family home and the parents are out at work, it would be disastrous."

“Last year firefighters attended around 20 fires involving batteries charging in homes"

Cambridgeshire fire service said: "It is vital for people to be alert when charging any kind of device. Last year firefighters attended around 20 fires involving batteries charging in homes, with more occurring already in 2025.

"Electrical devices are a key part to everyday life for most people. Mobile phones, tablets, laptops and games console controllers, as well as vehicles like e-bikes and scooters are used daily and need to be powered to do so.

"Most devices come with safety features to ensure they do not overheat when being charged.

"Using the charging packs, cables and plugs provided by the manufacturers, rather than cheaper versions will help charge devices safely.

"Replica replacement chargers sometimes don’t have these features and can end up overcharging the battery, which causes thermal runaway leading to explosions and rapidly intense fires."